Ab Nahi Toh Kab or ‘The Time is Now’, is a campaign launched in 2015 by a collective of adolescent girls and young women across 12 wards of Mumbai, who formed a network of changemakers called “Learning Community” in 2012. Funded and supported by EMpower-The Emerging Markets Foundation Ltd (http://www.empowerweb.org/), the Learning Community began as an initiative, entirely led by adolescent girls,
where they target problems affecting them in their communities and implement interventions to address them. These are young girls between the ages of 10-18 who are determined that they can make a difference, and have started their own initiatives to bring change in their communities. Unheard voices and unnoticed issues around mobility and public safety are what these girls bringing to the mainstream discussions on girl empowerment in Mumbai. From 40 girls and 4 organizations in 2012, the Learning Community has grown into an active community of 90 girls and 9 organisations in Mumbai this year. Vacha, Stree Mukti Sanghatana, CORO, Pukar, Bright Future, Enabling Leadership, CHIP Foundation, Antarang and Oscar are the member organisations of the Learning Community, who are providing training to adolescent girls to enable them to lead change in their local environs. Though this campaign, these girls are reaching out to individuals, families, communities and government authorities to make them accountable for girls' safety and mobility. For the past two years, they have been working in and around their bastis (slum communities) to reduce restrictions on girls' mobility in public spaces. This year, they have decided to take a step further and make their city spaces safer and more accessible for women and girls. The campaign 'Ab Nahi Toh Kab', is a call to action to everyone who has a stake in making Mumbai's public spaces safe and free of gender-based restrictions. You are welcome to be a part of this campaign. Contact us at [email protected]
